


Ink-Stained Hearts

by Moontune



Series: Bendy and the Prompt Machine [7]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Gore, M/M, Violence, as happy as you can get in a cursed studio at least, gender neutral reader, prompt, rated mature just in case, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 01:13:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18355562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontune/pseuds/Moontune
Summary: Things in the studio weren't all bad. You got to work side-by-side with your best friend, do what you were good at, and the pay wasn't half bad either. But all that changed when Joey called you down deeper into the studio for a little "meeting"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I know I make too many Sammy/Reader fics but when I got this prompt I couldn't help it!
> 
> (Mind the tags)

There were worse things in the world than working at Joey Drew Studios. You reminded yourself of this every day; be it when you got drenched in ink when a pipe burst, when the toy machine suddenly decided to malfunction, or when Shawn almost lost a hand trying to pry that toy Boris head out of the inner mechanisms that one time. Yeah, there were worse things.

 

Sighing as you stitched up another Alice plush, you listened to Shawn as he rambled. He was trying to fix the toy machine (again), and he had a habit of talking a lot when he worked.

 

“-and I heard things aren’t too great up in music, either… somethin’ about that Campbell woman losin’ her role?”

 

Taking a moment to process his words, you decided to pitch in to his voiced thoughts. You knew what he was talking about – hell, you probably knew more about the situation than he did, since you often spent your free time up in the Music Department for… personal reasons.

 

“Yeah, Joey went and replaced Susie.” You said, hissing slightly when you nicked your thumb with the sewing needle. “Now Alice is gonna be voiced by Allison Pendle. Sammy had to be the one to break the news, of course.”

 

“An’ I'm sure he told you all about it, huh?” You could hear the grin in his voice, the cocky bastard.

 

“Of course he did,” You answered, “Susie’s blaming him and calling him a liar. It’s a stressful situation for him, and he needed to talk to someone about it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Shawn stepped back from the machine, pulling the lever to get it started. “I still say you should be careful around ‘im. There’s something not quite right in his head, y’know?”

 

You groaned, tossing your head back to look up at the wooden ceiling above. You knew he meant well, he was your best friend and he only wanted to look out for you. He was like a brother to you – a loud, overprotective brother who insisted he knew better, but a brother nonetheless.

 

“Yeah, and this is the how-manyeth time you told me?” You quipped back, setting the now-complete Alice plush down on the shelf as you reached for your cup of coffee. “He’s a bit eccentric, sure, but there’s nothing outwardly _wrong_ about him. He’s a decent guy; you just gotta give him a chance.”

 

Hearing Shawn sigh, you glanced over to him to see him lean against the workbench across from you.

 

“You really worry me, y’know?” He started, his tone low and serious – a stark contrast to his usual loud and light-hearted demeanor.

 

_Oh boy, here we go._

 

“You love to give people the benefit of the doubt, an’ I can respect that about you. Ya wanna see the best in people, an’ you try so hard ta please everyone. It’s remarkable, really.”

 

Setting down your coffee, you leaned back in your chair and continued to listen to him.

 

“But you give people too much credit.” He continued, his blue eyes staring intently into yours. “I’m scared someone’s gonna come ‘round and take advantage of ya, and you’re gonna get hurt real bad one of these days ‘cause of that.”

 

You sighed, looking down to stare into your half-empty mug. He was right, of course. You were too trusting, and you had your fair share of issues in the past because of it.

 

Taking a moment to think, you chose your words carefully as you spoke, looking back up at him.

 

“I know you mean well, and trust me when I say I really appreciate it,” You said slowly, “But we’ve been together for a few months now, and he hasn’t done anything to raise any red flags. Sure, we’ve had the occasional argument here and there, but it’s never gotten too bad.”

 

Shawn stared at you for a few moments longer, before sighing himself and standing up straight.

 

“Aight, then,” He said, “If you’re so certain, then I guess I’ll just have ta trust ya and hope you’re right.”

 

Ruffling your hair a bit, he grinned as you attempted to smack his had away. Both of you stopped and froze, however, when you heard a bunch of not-so-good noises coming from the toy machine.

 

Swearing under his breath, Shawn turned and nearly tripped over himself to shut it off. Taking another gulp of your coffee, you watched as he frantically looked over the mechanisms, muttering words you couldn’t understand. Despite not knowing what he was saying exactly, you knew him enough to understand that he was cursing in Irish.

 

To make matters worse, of course, you heard a low rumble come from a pipe located directly above you.  Groaning, you hit your head against the workbench, not bothering to try and flee as ink spurted from the pipe and gallons on ink flooded the room.

 

Stumbling out of your chair, you clambered over the ink-soaked workbench and followed Shawn out of the room so you could find Wally and/or Thomas so they could fix the mess of ink. Or maybe Joey, so you could both chew him out over how bad of an idea it was to install pipes for hundreds of gallons of ink despite how absolutely absurd the concept was.

 

 As you left Heavenly Toys, you both managed to run into Norman, who had been on his way down to Level 14 to get a new projector. The look he gave the two of you was one of empathy and pity as he stopped and told you that Wally was cleaning up a mess in Music, and Thomas was in a meeting with Joey.

 

Thanking him, you went ahead to fetch Wally while Shawn stayed back with Norman. It wasn’t like it took both of you to get a single janitor, and Norman wouldn’t be able to access Level 14 since the toy room was effectively flooded and unpassable.

 

Trudging up several flights of stairs, you grimaced slightly as you felt the ink on your skin begin to dry, and your clothes stick to your body in the most uncomfortable way. A few interns and employees passed by you, paying little attention to you as you entered the Music Department. People covered in ink weren’t a rare occurrence at this point, with the constant floods and bursting pipes. They simply pointed you to where Wally was, keeping their work a primary focus.

 

Entering the band room, you found Wally mopping up a large coffee spill, whistling as he went about his work. He didn’t notice you come in; he had his back to you and couldn’t see you.

 

“Hey Wally,” You said, cringing slightly when you heard how tired your voice sounded out loud.

 

Perking up at the call of his name, Wally turned around to face you with a smile.  That smile turned into a snicker once he saw your ink-drenched form, however.

 

“Don’t you _dare_ laugh.” You warned. You weren’t in a good mood, not anymore.

 

Putting a hand over his mouth, he set his mop off to the side and grabbed a nearby toolbox. Once his poorly-concealed laughter died down, he approached you and glanced behind you at the trail of inky footprints you left behind.

 

“Okay then,” Wally said, looking back up at you. “I'm guessin’ it’s bad?”

 

“Go see for yourself,” You answered, “And let me know when you’re done, I need to go to the infirmary and make sure I don’t get ink poisoning.”

 

Nodding, Wally cast you another smile before walking past you to get down to the ink flood. Rubbing your temples to soothe the headache you felt coming on, you then headed down the hall to the infirmary just in time to bump into Sammy, who was just leaving the infirmary.

 

“I… guess I don’t need to ask why you’re here.” He stated simply, staring dumbly at you. There had been floods and burst pipes before, but he never saw someone affected so badly. Your skin, clothes, and hair were all completely black; it was as if you bathed in the stuff.

 

You shifted your weight a bit awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed for him to see you in such a state.

 

“Yeah, it’s… it’s pretty bad down there.” You said, trying to make light conversation.

 

Sure, you’ve been dating for several months now, but you couldn’t help but still feel a little self-conscious and even somewhat intimidated by Sammy. He was a great guy, and you loved him dearly; but you’d be lying if you insisted that Shawn wasn’t even a little bit correct in that there was something… _off_ about him.

 

Now here you were, standing in front of him, soaked to the bone in ink.

 

Suddenly, however, he grabbed your hand and turned to walk back down to the infirmary.

 

“Come on; let’s get you cleaned up before you get sick.”

 

Following quietly, you allowed him to take the lead and sit you down onto the cot. The infirmary was vacant of any other people, leaving just the two of you alone.

 

Remaining seated on the cot, you watched as Sammy opened the drawer beside the bed, grabbing a few clean cloths before retrieving an empty basin from under the cot.

 

“I can do this myself; you should probably get back to work…” You said, about to stand up only for him to press his hand down on your shoulder to keep you seated.

 

“I’ve already finished the song for the next episode.”  He spoke calmly, setting the cloths down beside you before standing up straight with the wash basin in hand. “Just relax, okay? You look exhausted.”

 

Sighing, you nodded, and watched as he turned to a nearby water tap to fill up the basin.

 

“Do you have a spare change of clothes?” He asked, turning off the water before turning to face you. You were about to say that you did, but then remembered that you kept them on the lower shelf in the toy room, and were no doubt soaked in ink as well.

 

“...Those got inked, too.” You said, looking away.

 

He hummed in response, stepping forward and kneeling down in front of you. He placed the basin full of water on the ground and grabbed one of the cloths, dipping it in the water and wiping away the ink coating your face.

 

It was peaceful, really. Neither of you said a word as Sammy scrubbed as much ink off your skin as he could; though at this point, it was stained on pretty well. The only way to get it all out would probably be to soak it out in a bath.

 

“You should go home.” He said, seemingly out of the blue.

 

“What?” Was all you could utter in response. His sudden words had caught you off-guard; besides, you couldn’t go home yet. You still had at least an hour left until your shift ended.

 

“You should go home, take a bath or something.” He repeated, “The sooner you get this all off, the less of a chance you’ll get sick from it.”

 

Sighing, you leaned back as Sammy stood up straight.

 

“Do you want me to lose my job?” You asked. “There’s no way Joey would let me go early, even if my health is in danger.”

 

At the mention of Joey Drew, Sammy’s expression changed for a brief moment. It was quick, and you would’ve missed it had you blinked. That was unusual… but you brushed it off. Maybe a trick of the light, or you were already having ink-induced hallucinations.

 

You’d swear the stuff was cursed.

 

Shaking his head, Sammy moved the basin off to the side before looking over your clothes. Both of you had tried scrubbing the ink out of your clothes, but there was no getting those stains out.

 

At least you weren’t caked in ink anymore. Or, not nearly as much as you had been before.

 

Sammy seemed to be contemplating… something. But you weren’t sure what. He knew just as well as you did that Joey cared very little about the well-being of his employees, and wouldn’t allow you to leave and clean yourself up properly. Normally he’d make some witty remark about it, but do nothing as no one would be able to persuade Joey into actually caring about people.

 

So why was he so apprehensive? Why was he thinking so hard about it this one time? It wasn’t the first time you ended up getting drenched in ink – though this definitely was the worst instance of such.

 

He sighed, and stepped back to allow you room to get up off the cot. As you stood up, you lingered just for a moment to thank him for helping you before turning and starting up the stairs. Halfway up your ascent, however, you heard him speak up, causing you to come to a dead halt.

 

“I love you.”

 

Turning to look back at him, you saw him staring at you with an almost frightening intensity.

 

Smiling awkwardly, you tried to brighten the suddenly solemn atmosphere.

 

“I love you too, but… you don’t have to say it like that.” You laughed a little, even though his expression remained unchanged. “You sound like I'm gonna die or something.”

 

 Sammy looked away briefly at those words, but remained silent. You turned back around, ready to get back down to your department.

 

“I’ll see you after work, okay?”

 

After hearing a quiet “yeah” from Sammy, you continued up the staircase from the infirmary. By the time you returned to the toy room, the pipe was fixed and Wally was cleaning up the mess of ink on the floor while Shawn got the toy machine started up.

 

The rest of your shift went rather smoothly, despite the constant tingle you felt on your skin. You were able to ignore it for the most part, though it did cause quite a bit of discomfort while you worked.

 

Nevertheless, you got through the last hour of your shift without further incident. You placed the last of the Alice dolls up on the shelf, ready to clock out.

 

“Good work today, (Y/N).” Shawn piped up, setting aside a Bendy plush. “Ya really pulled through after that pipe burst.”

 

“Thanks,” You replied, stretching as you stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I'm gonna go home and soak in the bath for the next five months.”

 

Before you could leave the room and clock out, Thomas had decided to make an entrance.

 

“Evenin’, Tom,” Shawn said, greeting him as he entered. “Need anything?”

 

“Yeah, Mister Drew wanted to see (Y/N).” Thomas answered, looking to you.

 

Both you and Shawn looked at each other in slight confusion. Joey wanted to speak with _you?_ Normally, if there was something that needed discussed about toys, he’d call down Shawn. He was the one in charge of manufacturing the dolls, after all. Why would he need to speak with you?

 

You could feel your anxiety spike up as you mumbled an “okay” and followed Tom. The further down you went, the less people there were. Most of the other employees had clocked out already, so it really shouldn’t have surprised you. But at the same time, it made the entire situation feel a lot creepier than it should’ve been.

 

To top it off, Thomas didn’t take you to Joey’s office. He didn’t lead you through the maze of Administrative offices to where Joey’s would be; no, he walked you through his own office, heading through a vault and down a few hallways until you entered a large room, where the Ink Machine was docked.

 

You had never been in this part of the studio before. Hell, you never even saw the Ink Machine before. It was all… so strange. Why did Joey want to talk to you, and here of all places?

 

But it wasn’t just Joey who stood in front of the Ink Machine. Sammy stood there as well, staring down at the ground in front of him.

 

Curious, you looked down at what he was looking at, and felt a shiver run down your spine.

 

There was a circle drawn in ink, with five large blobs of thick ink placed around it. Candles were spread around as well, making the scene that much more eerie.

 

You were ready to turn around and leave, never more willing to quit your job then and there, but you heard Thomas close and lock the door behind you. Before Joey could address you, you spoke up first.

 

“What…” You muttered, voice cracking before you spoke up a bit louder. “What was it you needed me for?”

 

“I'm glad you asked!” Joey said in his usual loud, charismatic voice. “I'm sure you’re well aware of how the characters in our cartoons mean to everyone who watches them. They mean a lot to me, too. I believe that they are so much more than just drawings on a page or dolls on a shelf. They’re a part of each and every one of us!”

 

You looked up at him, watching him carefully as you processed his words. You already didn’t care much about what he said; you wanted to leave and go home and wash this damned ink off of you. Hell, it already felt like it was starting to burn your skin…

 

“And I want people to get the chance to meet them!” Joey continued, “I want them to be able to shake their hand, spend an afternoon with them. Love them…  I want to bring Bendy and the gang to life, (Y/N).”

 

This was crazy, Joey was crazy. There was no way he _actually_ believed that this could all work; that he could bring fictional characters into reality… did he?

 

“And I'm gonna be honest with you, (Y/N). We’ve been trying, but so far… we’ve seen little success so far. The things we’ve been making… they’re not quite alive, you see.”

 

Looking from Joey to Sammy, you found that he refused to look at you. God, what was happening? What were they planning to do with you?

 

Before Joey could say anything else, a deep hissing could be heard as the area became enveloped in dark, black tendrils. Your breath caught in your throat, and your heart pounded in your chest. Looking over, you stared in horror at the sight of a tall, skeletal monster just _barely_ resembling Bendy.

 

“Case in point…” You heard Thomas mumble under his breath.

 

“(Y/N)…” You perked up at Sammy’s voice, looking over to him. He was surprisingly calm, but his eyes gave away the hidden shame and sadness he felt. “Everything will be okay, I promise.”

 

You desperately wanted to trust him. You wanted to believe that he was right, and that everything was just fine.

 

But you knew that was far from the truth. Things were definitely not okay; you stood before some ritualistic circle, and a monster made of ink that just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

 

Before you could fully grasp the situation at hand, you felt something big and wet on your shoulder. You immediately tensed up, slowly looking over to see the ink monster hovering over you, and grabbing hold of your shoulder.

 

“ _(Y/N),_ ” Sammy spoke again, a little louder this time. “You need to get into the circle. You’ll be okay, just get into the circle.”

 

At this point, you weren’t sure whether to listen to him or not. But at the same time, there were very few alternative options.

 

So, you slowly stepped into the circle. You desperately hoped that the monster would let go of you, but instead, it seemed to… _melt_ into you.

 

You immediately started to panic. Breathing rapidly, you felt the skin beneath the thick ink burn, as though someone was pouring hot water over your flesh. It only seemed to worsen when you did enter the circle, and the monster continued to melt away and encase your body in ink until its own body was no longer present.

 

Looking down, you saw the five globs of thick ink around the circle spread across the floor on their own, forming a pentagram.

 

That’s when the pain really hit.

 

As soon as the ink finished forming the pentagram you stood upon, you felt the monster’s own ink squeeze around you, causing you to cry out and gasp for breath. You collapsed to the ground, as it spread up to cover your head while mercilessly crushing and snapping your bones.

 

Once the broken shards of bones broke through the skin, the ink was quick to enter the fresh wounds. It pulsated through your body, tearing through muscle and severing tendons.

 

Tears formed in your eyes as it then forced itself into your mouth and down your throat. You gagged at the taste and tried to breathe in, only for nothing but ink to enter your now-collapsed lungs. You struggled desperately to breathe, to taste fresh air instead of the acidic tang of ink.

 

Your body then began to heave up the contents of your stomach in an attempt to purge it of the atrocious amounts of ink you were forced to swallow, but that was the only thing this creature allowed. You weren’t permitted time to gasp for the air you desperately needed, as the ink immediately closed up your airway again after your stomach was emptied.

 

You closed your eyes once the ink crawled over them – a vain attempt to prevent it from burrowing under your eyelids and forcing its way deep into your skull.

 

It felt as though the torment would never end. Your body was broken, deprived of oxygen as the ink continued to tear you apart.

 

The last thing you thought of before finally falling unconscious was just how right Shawn had been.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't want to make the reader a searcher or a lost one, so I kept the appearance relatively ambiguous.

Silence was the only thing that followed you in this studio. You relished in it, as it was a beautiful change of pace from the overwhelming voices that screamed from the puddles. Sure, there was the occasional Searcher who would disturb your silence, but they were easily dispatched of. A single swipe of your claws was more than enough to send them back to their puddles.

 

You spent most of your time sticking around Heavenly Toys. You weren’t sure why, but it was the most comforting place for you in the whole studio. Not that you ever managed to explore the entire studio – you actually forgot what most of the levels were like, as you had stayed in here for so long.

 

Wandering was a terrible sin, after all.

 

But then the angel had arrived. She purged the entire level of any ink creatures – you had barely managed to fend her off once. After that… you didn’t want to take any chances. You had to leave your cozy little home of toys, or the angel would send you back to the suffocating puddles.

 

So you journeyed up, away from the angel to what you hoped would be safety. It didn’t take you long to find a smaller floor, known as the “Music Department” according to the large sign on the wall. While that in itself felt awfully familiar, it was the name inscribed below the title that threw you back into the past, resurfacing old and forgotten memories.

 

Memories of a handsome man, writing his songs and leading the band. Memories of soft kisses and tender touches.

 

Memories of pain and torture as he watched you, writhing on the ground as you succumbed to the ink.

 

You gave him your love, and in the end, he left you for dead.

 

_He lied to you._

 

Suddenly, you felt a presence behind you, appearing from the wall. You had a feeling you already knew who it was, but when you heard him speak, you were more than certain.

 

“Are you lost, little sheep?” He asked, tilting his masked face. “Please, allow me to take you somewhere safer-“

 

“Do not _lie_ to me, Samuel.” You spat in response, ink dripping from your mouth as you spoke.

 

At that, he fell silent. It was hard for you to tell what he was thinking, with that mask obscuring his face; but you could tell he was at least somewhat taken aback at your outburst.

 

“(Y/N)?” He said, his voice shaking ever so slightly.

 

So he still remembered you.

 

“I’d say it’s nice to see you again,” You said, “But it’s really not.”

 

“Yes, I…” He sighed, his shoulders slouching as he spoke. “I suppose our last encounter wasn’t too terribly pleasant.”

 

“That’s an understatement.” You said, speaking through gritted teeth, “You _lied_ to me, Samuel. You promised that everything would be okay, but you _lied_ to me and you watched me die!”

 

“I'm sorry, I-“

 

“You’re _sorry?!_ ” Stepping forward, you watched as he backed up into the wall behind him. “I _trusted_ you, Sammy! You left me to die, and you’re _sorry?!”_

 

“Please, (Y/N)-” You could see him tense up as he pressed his back against the wall. “I never meant to hurt you!”

 

Letting out a roar, you brought your claws up. Your first instinct was to slash across his throat and end his miserable existence; but you hesitated, and instead embedded them into the wall beside his neck.

 

“I don’t care whether you meant to or not.” Your voice shook as inky tears welled up in your golden eyes. “ _I loved you_ , Sammy. I loved you so much, and you let the Ink Demon slaughter me...”

 

“I… I know.” His voice cracked as his inky body trembled. “I'm so sorry, I…”

 

You wanted to be angry enough to hurt him. You were furious, but you couldn’t bring yourself to actually harm him in any physical way. Despite how badly he had hurt you, how he had lied to you… you still loved him, and you wanted to believe him.

 

Suddenly, a hand cupped you chin in a soothing manner. You flinched away slightly at first, but allowed him to keep his hand positioned there. It felt… right.

 

“I never wanted to hurt you.” He said, his voice much softer and more certain. “You, my precious little sheep…”

 

“Don’t…” You muttered, shaking your head and stepping back, pulling your hand from the wall.

 

You didn’t know what to think. You didn’t know whether to be happy with him, or distrustful of him. You couldn’t handle it, not after what he’d done. You weren’t sure how long ago it had been, but the wound he left still felt too fresh.

 

But at the same time, you might never see him again if you left him now. With how dangerous and unpredictable the studio is, either of you could be sent back to the puddles at any time. This could be your only chance to make amends and reconnect with the man you once loved.

 

With the man you _still_ love.

 

“(Y/N), please…” Sammy said, grabbing hold of your arm before you could run away. “I’ll admit, my memory… my memory has only been getting worse. I'm forgetting more and more of who I was, but… I could never forget you, and how much you meant to me.”

 

His hand traveled down your arm, gently taking your hand in his and intertwining his fingers between your claws.

 

“…How much you still mean to me.”

 

You kept quiet at his words, taking the time to think over them carefully. Could you really go back to being happy together? Was that even possible in here, of all places? You were conflicted – half of you wanted to trust him, to love him and forgive him. But the other half… the other half couldn’t forget the pain he put you through on that fateful day.

 

Sighing, you wiped away the inky tears that escaped your eyes, and stared intently at his masked face. You couldn’t possibly read his expression; he could very easily be lying to you.

 

But then again, he always spoke with his words… and he sounded especially sincere.

 

Finally, you made your choice.

 

“One chance.” You said, holding tight onto his hand. “I’ll give you one chance, and if I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll send you back to the puddles.”

 

“That sounds rather fair.” He chuckled, relaxing as the tension between you dissipated.

 

You smiled softly, though you were unsure of what to do next.

 

“Say,” Sammy spoke up, “What brought you up to the Music Department?”

 

“Well… the angel was causing some trouble on the lower levels…” You answered, thinking back to all the dissected ink creatures and shredded Bendy plushies. “I figured I’d come up here instead.”

 

“Do you plan on staying here for long?” He asked, tilting his head slightly in question.

 

“I don’t have anything better to do, so yeah. I guess I am.” You shrugged at him – anything beat getting mauled by the angel, really.

 

“If that’s the case, then… would you care for a tour of the Music Department?”

 

You grinned, and nodded in response.

 

“Of course,” You said, “Lead the way, music man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate ending:
> 
> “Do you plan on staying here for long?” He asked, tilting his head slightly in question.
> 
> “I don’t have anything better to do, so yeah. I guess I am.” You shrugged at him – anything beat getting mauled by the angel, really.
> 
> “If that’s the case, then… do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour, Bendy?”
> 
> “…I beg your pardon?”
> 
> Maybe you were better off taking your chances in Heavenly Toys.


End file.
